NELSON MANDELA,"the african monument"

Nelson Mandela statue is unveiled

Mr Mandela said it was an honour to be at the unveiling
Enlarge ImageA statue of former South African President Nelson Mandela has been unveiled in London.
Mr Mandela, 89, his wife Graca Machel, and Prime Minister Gordon Brown were among those at the unveiling in Parliament Square.
Mr Brown hailed Mr Mandela as the "greatest and most courageous leader of our generation".
The late South African anti-apartheid activist Donald Woods had the idea for the 9ft-high (2.7m) bronze statue.
Talking to crowds who gathered for the unveiling, Mr Mandela said: "Though this statue is of one man, it should in actual fact symbolise all of those who have resisted oppression, especially in my country."
Happier lives
Lord Richard Attenborough, trustee of the Mandela Statue Fund, introduced Mr Mandela at the unveiling and spoke of Mr Woods's "bravery".

Large crowds gathered in Parliament Square for the statue unveiling
"He fled his country with his wife and five children and came here as a refugee, thrown out by the apartheid system," said Lord Attenborough.
"He would have given anything to have been here today because it was his concept."
Wendy Woods, wife of the late Donald Woods, said: "This statue will remind the world of the human qualities that Mr Mandela has.
"These are qualities which have helped South Africa put paid to its past and helped us on our first step towards a future where all people can flourish and lead happier lives."
Dogged by arguments
The statue had been dogged by arguments over where it should go as well as its artistic merit.
Mayor of London Ken Livingstone, who was also at the ceremony, had wanted it to stand on the north side of Trafalgar Square.
However, in 2005 Westminster Council refused permission saying it would clutter the space needed for large events.
It was finally agreed the statue should face the Houses of Parliament, and stand alongside images of other great leaders such as Winston Churchill, Benjamin Disraeli and Abraham Lincoln.
"Long after we are forgotten, you will be remembered for having taught the world one amazing truth," said Mr Livingstone.
"That you can achieve justice without vengeance. I honour you and London honours you."

some relax!!!!!!!!!!

I finished the weekend so tired that i needed some body and soul refreshing and i am pretty sure i'm not alone in this state.So i take this opportunity to ask you all to sitback and relax to some african music sequence or movie from this good link i copied the other day(it's down in my top links).hope it's worthwhile;Enjoy yourselves!
www.afrovision.tv/afrotv/music.php

GIVING FOR PURPOSE!

Is the act of giving good or baneful? Is it the act itself or the ideas behind it, the dependance it breeds? What about all the aid Africa is receiving from outside? Does it do more harm or good? Hold that thought.


You've seen Hotel Rwanda, Catch A Fire, Blood Diamond....and another African movie similar to these three is out. It's called BAMAKO and addresses just the issue of how responsible the WTO and IMF are responsible for Africa's economic quagmire... click on hypertext and check it out.(by african rainaisance)

STOP POVERTY FOR REAL!

President George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
USA

We respectfully ask our government to help stop the tens of thousands of preventable deaths that occur every day from hunger and poverty-related diseases.

Specifically, we ask our country to honor the agreement it made and signed at the 2002 Monterrey Conference and again at the 2002 Johannesburg Summit to make concrete efforts towards giving 0.7% of our national income in aid to poor countries.

The United Nations estimates that when all 22 countries that signed the agreement meet the 0.7% goal, the resulting $195 billion each year will be enough to effectively end hunger and extreme poverty in the world.

We commend the countries that have already reached the 0.7% goal: Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden.

We also commend the countries that have set up a schedule to meet the 0.7% goal and encourage them in their efforts to reach it as soon as possible: Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Spain, and the United Kingdom.

We respectfully ask the six remaining countries to honor their agreement and set up a schedule to reach the 0.7% goal: Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Switzerland, and the United States.

Thank you.

2006 International Aid Donated

COUNTRY	Aid as % of income	How close to the 0.7% goal
Sweden	1.03	Already reached goal
Luxembourg	0.89	Already reached goal
Norway	0.89	Already reached goal
Netherlands	0.81	Already reached goal
Denmark	0.80	Already reached goal
Ireland	0.53	Scheduled for 2012
United Kingdom	0.52	Scheduled for 2013
Belgium	0.50	Scheduled for 2010
Austria	0.48	Scheduled for 2015
France	0.47	Scheduled for 2012
Switzerland	0.39	No schedule yet
Finland	0.39	Scheduled for 2010
Germany	0.36	Scheduled for 2014
Spain	0.32	Scheduled for 2012
Canada	0.30	No schedule yet
Australia	0.30	No schedule yet
New Zealand	0.27	No schedule yet
Japan	0.25	No schedule yet
Portugal	0.21	Scheduled for 2015
Italy	0.20	Scheduled for 2015
United States	0.17	No schedule yet
Greece	0.16	Scheduled for 2015

Stop alla fame!

Primo Ministro Romano Prodi
Palazzo Chigi
370 Piazza Colonna
00187 Roma
Italia

Chiediamo rispettosamente al nostro governo di adoperasi per porre fine alle decine di migliaia di morti giornaliere ed evitabili, dovute alla fame e alle malattie legate alla povertà.

In particolare chiediamo al nostro Paese di onorare l’accordo negoziato e firmato alla Conferenza di Monterrey nel 2002 e nuovamente sottoscritto in occasione del Vertice di Joannesburg. Tale accordo prevede che venga fatto ogni sforzo per destinare lo 0,7% del Pil in sostegno ai Paesi poveri.

Le Nazioni Unite stimano che, quando tutti i 22 Paesi signatari avranno raggiunto il target dello 0,7%, i 195 miliadi di dollari ottenuti ogni anno saranno sufficienti per debellare la fame e la povertà estrema nel mondo.

Lodiamo le nazioni che hanno già raggiunto l’obiettivo dello 0,7%: Danimarca, Lussemburgo, Paesi Bassi, Norvegia e Svezia.

Plaudiamo inoltre ai Paesi che hanno stabilito un programma per raggiungere lo 0,7% e li esortiamo a impegnarsi per conseguire l'obiettivo al più presto: Austria, Belgio, Finlandia, Francia, Germania, Grecia, Irlanda, Italia, Portogallo, Spagna e Regno Unito.

Rispettosamente chiediamo che le 6 nazioni rimanenti onorino l’accordo preso e fissino un calendario per il raggiungimento del target dello 0,7%: Australia, Canada, Giappone, Nuova Zelanda, Svizzera e Stati Uniti.

Grazie.

Aiuti umanitari donati nel 2006

NAZIONE	Aiuti in % del reddito	Posizione rispetto al raggiungimento dell’obiettivo dello 0,7%
Svezia	1,03	Obiettivo raggiunto
Lussemburgo	0,89	Obiettivo raggiunto
Norvegia	0,89	Obiettivo raggiunto
Paesi Bassi	0,81	Obiettivo raggiunto
Danimarca	0,80	Obiettivo raggiunto
Irlanda	0,53	In programma per il 2012
Regno Unito	0,52	In programma per il 2013
Belgio	0,50	In programma per il 2010
Austria	0,48	In programma per il 2015
Francia	0,47	In programma per il 2012
Svizzera	0,39	Non ancora definito
Finlandia	0,39	In programma per il 2010
Germania	0,36	In programma per il 2014
Spagna	0,32	In programma per il 2012
Canada	0,30	Non ancora definito
Australia	0,30	Non ancora definito
Nuova Zelanda	0,27	Non ancora definito
Giappone	0,25	Non ancora definito
Portogallo	0,21	In programma per il 2015
Italia	0,20	In programma per il 2015
Stati Uniti	0,17	Non ancora definito
Grecia	0,16	In programma per il 2015

PATIENT CAPITAL IN AFRICA

Hi,i jumped unto this article and decide to share with everyone,hoping you'll find it worthwile reading and commenting.

I very much believe there is a huge gap in the supply of risk capital for social enterprises. I am talking about longer-term, lower-interest, capital provided by investors who understand social enterprises and who are patient enough to allow an organization to use their financing to grow and take significant risks. Tom Friedman wrote an article a few weeks ago which highlighted just this need, specifically in Africa. I have been learning of and meeting with a few East African investors lately, but very few are considering themselves as patient capital investors. If you are a social financer looking for the sweet spot in terms of development potential- here is is.
Friedman opened by describing his experience in a Tanzanian used clothing market and then went on to write:Africa needs many things, but most of all it needs capitalists who can start and run legal companies. More Bill Gateses, fewer foundations. People grow out of poverty when they create small businesses that employ their neighbors. Nothing else lasts.Whenever you read about capital flowing into Africa, though, it tends to be from big lenders like the World Bank, which have very strict criteria and work on big projects, or from microfinanciers, giving out $50 to a woman to buy a sewing machine. Microfinance has a role, but many people don’t want the pressure of being an entrepreneur. They want the stability and prosperity of a job created by capitalist risk takers and innovators. See India.In some ways what Africa needs most today is more "patient" capital to spur its would-be capitalists. Patient capital has all the discipline of venture capital — demanding a return, and therefore rigor in how it is deployed — but expecting a return that is more in the 5 to 10 percent range, rather than the 35 percent that venture capitalists look for, and with a longer payback period.A good example of what happens when you combine patient capital, talent and innovation in Africa is the Kenyan company Advanced Bio-Extracts (ABE), headed by Patrick Henfrey. He and his partners put together a fascinating group of both white and black African farmers and scientists to build the first company in Africa to cultivate the green leafy plant artemisia, often called sweet wormwood, and transform it into pharmaceutical grade artemisinin — a botanical extract that is the key ingredient in a new generation of low-cost, effective malaria treatments commonly known as artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs). Malaria still kills nearly one million people in Africa every year, more than H.I.V.-AIDS.
From its factory outside Nairobi, ABE is not only processing the feedstock for the drug, but has also contracted with 7,000 farmers, most with small farms, to grow artemisia in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. The crop gives farmers four times the financial yield of corn.
ABE is one of Acumen's investments and a good example of the type of investments we are searching for here in East Africa. It was great that Friedman recognized the potential for development in Africa and highlighted one promising strategy. You can find the Friedman article quoted above by clicking here to read the New York Times (subscription required to read).
creato da Keely Stevenson
classificato come
Keely Stevenson
Patient Capital
Acumen Fund
Africa
Nextbillion.net